Arrggh you ready for a party?

We had a princess pirate themed birthday party for Ella today.

My sister, Emily hosted the party at her house, since we are packing up, and our house is a mess.

Emily also made cute cupcakes & cake pops for the party.

Trisha wrapped Ella's gift in a cute treasure chest.

The guests got some gold coins and treasure to take home.

We ate yummy food, colored pictures, played games, read stories, and bounced.

Ella loves her friends & cousins.

She got a ton of fun "treasures." Thank you everyone who came, and thank you Emily for hosting the party at your house.

Money well wasted

We weren't planning on doing anything for Ella’s birthday tonight, but Tyler decided he was sick of working 16 hour days.
We decided to try out the new pizza place in Draper. When we first walked in and saw the price, we thought for sure it would be a huge waste of money... but 4 and a half hours later, pizza, salads, desserts, games, prizes, candy, bumper cars, mini-golf, and the happiest little kids ever... it turns out that we wasted our money well.

Happy Birthday Ella!

Lily makes breakfast

There's nothing like waking up to a delicious breakfast. Today's menu: Waffles topped with sprinkles & a little pepper.

Dat Bedda?

Tall piles of neatly folded laundry stacked in rows, sat peacefully, as I worked to put them away. Before I could reach her, Lily tore through the piles of laundry grabbing armfuls of clothing, towels, and, socks. She then proceeded to distribute them carelessly throughout the room.

Lily: Dat bedda Mommy? I help! Dat Bedda?

Blue Slurpees

Ella: Mom, what flavor is my Slurpee again?
Me: Blue Raspberry
Ella: Guess what it tastes like.
Me: Raspberry?
Ella: Not even close.
Me: What does it taste like then?
Ella: Blue flavor.

Pottery Barn told me to paint Ella's room green

We were planning to paint Ella's room lavender, but after I found Ella's old bedspread she used in our last house, we decided to paint her room a color that would match. I went to Pottery Barn's website to look for color inspirations, and was surprised to see that they still sell her bedspread (shown above.) The green room it was in looked fun, so I decided to paint Ella's room the color that was listed in the picture (even though the actual paint chip is a color that I would have never even considered.)

We had a pizza party in her new, green room last night. It's very bright... but I like it (I think). I do hope, however that the green almost radiation glow that shines through the cracks of her door disappear after our carpet goes in.

St. George

Initially, we weren't going to go to St. George this weekend since we have a ton of work and house building to do.

After working like crazy this week, I decided the girls needed to get out and do something fun. Tyler decided to stay home an continue to work like crazy.

Trisha set up the slip & slide and took the girls swimming, Ryan caught bee's, lizards, & dragonflies for the girls. We all had a fun and relaxing weekend. We decided, however, to come home Sunday night instead of Monday, since I was feeling very guilty that Tyler was home working hard while we played... but it was fun while it lasted.

Lots to finish

We have one month to paint, lay tile, put the flooring in, build cabinets, pick out carpet, counter-tops, sinks, toilets, faucets, & hardware, Finish the deck, pour the driveway, stain the doors, put the lights together & hang them, pack our stuff, & move in. Can we do it?

Is that a siren?

Grocery shopping with Lily is the best. I can go grocery shopping with her and be out of the store in under 5 minutes.
Lily does not like to go to the grocery store. Her method for showing her intense dislike for grocery shopping includes screaming at the top of her lungs during the entire trip. Sometimes I don't have Lily with me. On such occasions, I often find myself behind a slow shopper, or perhaps stuck behind another shopper who blocks the entire aisle and refuses to move their cart out of the way to let me pass. I also find myself enjoying the silence and looking around a bit. When I have Lily with me, it's like I have a built in siren attached to my cart. People who would otherwise leave their cart in the middle of the isle are suddenly very happy to move out of my way as fast as possible. I don't even have to wait until I make it to where they are at, they can hear Lily from afar, thus moving out of my way well before I'm even close to passing them. Not only am I able to move quickly through the store, but I'm usually in such a hurry to leave the store, that I forget to buy half of the items on my grocery list. Less things to buy = less time at the store.

Thank you Lily for making my grocery trips quick. She saves me time & money. If you are interested in borrowing my siren (aka Lily) she is available. I wonder how well this would work on Black Friday?

*Word of caution: If you decide to take Lily out for a grocery spin. Please be aware that she eats fire-crackers.

Morning Walk

When I woke up this morning, and saw how nice it was outside, I decided to skip the part of the day where I try to work and my kids cry all morning while destroying the house. It turned out to be a great decision.

We took a little walk over to the temple.

We got to see all the pretty flowers & brides.

We enjoyed the sun. We should do this more often.

Hape Mudmudrssda

As I was getting breakfast ready for Lily this morning, I turned around to see that Ella had woken up. She was standing behind me with a gift she wrapped herself. The card above is a card she made herself with no help or prompting from Tyler. The gift she gave me was filled with her necklaces, gum, & chocolates she had been gathering & saving for me throughout the week. Tyler had a church meeting early this morning, so I know that he hadn't reminded her that it was Mother's day today. Ella is always so thoughtful. Thanks Ella!